FRIENDS OF THE CABILDO INC

What FRIENDS OF THE CABILDO INC does

Friends of the Cabildo Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1956 in New Orleans, Louisiana, that provides financial and volunteer support to the Louisiana State Museum system. The organization operates with a small paid staff of approximately 9 employees and a large statewide volunteer corps, generating revenue through a diversified mix of walking tours, museum store retail, membership dues, donations, ticketed events, and planned giving. Its core products are daily French Quarter Walking Tours conducted by city-licensed guides, supplemented by neighborhood and cultural tours, corporate and school group tours, and operation of the 1850 House Museum Store on Jackson Square, which serves as the official gift shop for all Louisiana State Museum properties in New Orleans.

The business model is community-led and event-driven. Walking tours are priced at $30 for adults, $20 for students 12 through college, and free for children under 12, with daily departures at 10:30 AM and 1:30 PM from the 1850 House on Jackson Square; bookings are processed through the Peek Pro platform. Membership tiers range from $25 (Student/Teacher) to $1,200 (Cabildo), with benefits including free tours, museum admission, lecture access, store discounts, and NARM reciprocity across 600+ museums at higher levels. Ticketed cultural programming — including a concert series, film series, adult history Zoom classes, member lectures, yoga, the annual Creole Christmas home tour (45th edition in 2026), and Ghostly Gallivant — is processed through Veevart. Donations are tax-deductible under Tax ID 72-6027414, and the organization maintains a planned-giving program called the Cupola Legacy Society.

Distinctive programmatic assets include an Oral History Program containing over 1,000 audio recordings of New Orleanians from the 1970s to present (with 700+ cassette tapes digitized and hosted on SoundCloud), a Spanish Heritage Program launched in 2017 for Spanish Immersion Schools, and an intensive volunteer tour guide training program delivering nearly 100 hours of class time over one month in preparation for city tour guide licensing. Technology integrations are limited to commercial SaaS platforms (Peek Pro, Salesforce, Veevart, SoundCloud) with no proprietary technology product, no AI/ML capability, and no disclosed patents or trademarks. The organization is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors led by President R. Duncan Brown and managed day-to-day by Executive Director Jason Strada.

Name

FRIENDS OF THE CABILDO INC

Legal name

Friends of the Cabildo

Website

https://friendsofthecabildo.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1956

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Friends of the Cabildo Inc. is a New Orleans-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1956 that provides financial and volunteer support to the Louisiana State Museum through walking tours, the 1850 House Museum Store, membership programs, educational events, and an oral history archive.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Heritage Tours and Museum Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520), Museums (712110), Historical Sites (71212)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Walking City Tours (Highlights & Orientation) (THAJAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cultural Heritage & Historic District Tours (THAJAAAB), History, Heritage & Museum-Focused Study Tours (THAKAGAN), Museum & Landmark Guided Tours (Skip-the-line/Docent-led) (THAJAAAC)

Keywords

• Historical walking tours
• Museum education programs
• Cultural heritage tours
• Nonprofit museum support
• New Orleans history tours

Headquarters

HQ city

New Orleans

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Walking Tours: Two-hour French Quarter walking tours at $30 for adults, $20 for students, free for under 12. Neighborhood and cultural tours at $25 ($20 for members). Daily operations with proceeds benefiting Louisiana State Museum.
2. Membership Dues: Annual membership tiers ranging from $25 (Student/Teacher) to $1,200 (Cabildo level). Benefits include free tours, discounts, event access, and NARM museum reciprocity at higher levels.
3. 1850 House Museum Store: Retail store operation at 523 St. Ann Street selling books, merchandise, local art, jewelry, pottery, and crafts. Supports Louisiana State Museum through merchandise sales.
4. Donations: Tax-deductible donations (501(c)(3) organization, Tax ID #72-6027414). General donations support FOC programming and museum exhibits. Restricted donations for Oral History Program and Spanish Heritage Program.
5. Events and Concerts: Concert series at New Orleans Jazz Museum ($30/$25 member tickets), film series ($20 GA, $10 members), lectures, adult history classes, and symposium events.
6. Planned Giving / Legacy Gifts: Bequests, retirement plans, and insurance gifts through Cupola Legacy Society. Supports long-term financial sustainability.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Friends of the Cabildo Inc. operates French Quarter historical walking tours, school and group educational programs, a museum gift shop, and member events in support of the Louisiana State Museum. Its tour business is staffed by trained docents, and the organization maintains an archive of more than 1,000 oral history recordings used in programming and outreach. Revenue from tours, memberships, store sales, donations, and events funds museum preservation, exhibits, and education.

Product overview

Friends of the Cabildo is a non-profit organization (501(c)(3)) that provides financial and volunteer support for the Louisiana State Museum. The organization operates a portfolio of tour and cultural education products centered around New Orleans history and culture. Core offerings include daily French Quarter Walking Tours and management of the 1850 House Museum Store. The product suite expands to include Neighborhood and Cultural Tours (Battle of New Orleans, Garden District, Treme, and others), special group and corporate tours, and the Walking Tour Guide Training Program. Cultural programming includes Concert Series, Film Series, Member Lecture Series via Zoom, Adult History Zoom Classes, Spanish Heritage Program, Creole Christmas, and Ghostly Gallivant events. The organization maintains an Oral History Program with over 1,000 recordings preserved digitally and hosted on SoundCloud. Membership tiers from $25 to $1,200 provide access to tours, museum admissions, and exclusive events. All proceeds support the Louisiana State Museum system.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 1850 House Museum Store: The official gift shop for the Louisiana State Museum properties in New Orleans, operated by Friends of the Cabildo at 523 St. Ann Street on Jackson Square.

Products and services

• French Quarter Walking Tours

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,000+ oral history recordings preserved
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Louisiana State MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary beneficiary partner since 1956. FOC provides financial and volunteer support for the Louisiana State Museum, its projects and properties. Five museums in New Orleans French Quarter operated by LSM. FOC operates 1850 House Museum Store as official gift shop.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• National Trust for Historic Preservation: National nonprofit operating historic site tours, member programs, and preservation advocacy. Analogous nonprofit membership-and-tour model at national scale; comparable mission and member-tier mechanics even though not regional.

Others

• Peek.com: Online tours-and-activities marketplace that powers FOC's tour booking system. Ecosystem enabler — not a competitor — but central to FOC's digital distribution and customer acquisition.
• New Orleans & Company: Convention and visitors bureau promoting New Orleans tourism. Indirect relationship — CVBs drive tourist demand that benefits FOC but do not directly compete in tour delivery.

Regional players

• Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans: Nonprofit historic preservation organization in New Orleans operating neighborhood tours, including annual Holiday Home Tours. Comparable nonprofit model focused on Louisiana historic preservation, with a tour-based funding arm similar to FOC's structure.

Direct peers

• Haunted History Tours: New Orleans walking tour operator focused on the French Quarter, with ghost, cemetery, and voodoo tours. Directly comparable walking tour delivery model targeting the same discretionary tourist segment in the same geography.
• Free Tours by Foot New Orleans: Tip-based walking tour operator covering the French Quarter, Garden District, and cemetery neighborhoods. Direct competitor on price-disciplined walking tours with overlapping neighborhood and cultural tour offerings.
• Royal Tours: New Orleans tour operator offering French Quarter walking tours and plantation excursions. Directly comparable French Quarter walking tour product serving the same leisure visitor segment.
• Garden District Tour Company: Walking tour operator focused on New Orleans' Garden District — directly comparable to FOC's Weekly Garden District Tour and Faubourg St. Mary/Lower Garden District offerings.
• Gray Line New Orleans: Operates sightseeing and walking tours of the New Orleans French Quarter and Garden District. Directly comparable tour product portfolio serving the same tourist customer base; notably, FOC's Walking Tour Guides Chairman also serves as Gray Line's tour development manager, evidencing close operational overlap.
• New Orleans Architecture Tours: Walking tour operator emphasizing New Orleans architecture and historic districts — comparable to FOC's emphasis on history, architecture, and folklore. Direct overlap on French Quarter and Garden District content.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CabildoFriends
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC8t_Zc_UbAbNRCco3f8YKww
• Facebookfacebook.com/friendsofthecabildo
• Instagraminstagram.com/friendsofthecabildo/?hl=en
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/friends-of-the-cabildo-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about FRIENDS OF THE CABILDO INC